Today is the PERFECT time for goal setting for the year if you didn’t at the end of 2017.

Set some goals that will be meaningful to your business. Here are some examples:

Post on your social media platforms 2+ times each week (e.g. Facebook, Pinterest, post in a group on LinkedIn, etc.). Some require more (Twitter), some will require less (YouTube), and most will benefit from at least two postings each week.

Network! Make 5 new contacts a month.

Customer referrals – make contact with 5 “old” contacts a month – those you haven’t talked with in a long time.

Take one hour each week to brainstorm new ideas for your business. You don’t have to do anything about it right away. Just let the idea of creativity be a part of your planned workday. The important ideas will resurface and they will get done.

One of my favorites: Choose a priority list for the day. Pick 3 to 5 items that MUST get done today! Write them down and cross them off as you accomplish them. Face it, many of us have very messy work days. We do not get the luxury of methodically working on one project to completion and then start another.

Choose one frog every day. Do you remember the book: Eat That Frog! This is a book by Bryan Tracy. The idea in it is to do the least desirable activity that is also very important, first. This way you can feel the success and momentum of getting that task out of the way. After you have “eaten the frog”, you can do anything!

Post one picture or comment each week highlighting your product on strategic places around the internet. This is great for the credibility of your business and website – answer questions on Q&A sites, directories, industry-specific sites, etc.

Search your company name on the internet to see what comes up. Is there some damage control needed or great reviews to highlight on your own online assets? This is the best way to manage your online reputation. Keep informed on where your name and company name are being used.

Oh, the list goes on and on. Try not to over commit yourself. It can be overwhelming if there are too many items on the list. Goal setting shouldn’t be overwhelming. Focus on 3 to 5, set measurable goals and start with those!

LinkedIn is considered the social networking website for professional people in all occupations and industries. And there is a difference in personal and professional networking! LinkedIn helps move your networking efforts into a strong community of professional contacts. Putting LinkedIn to use extends your current network into that of trusted contacts. Try out some of these tips and see how your professional connections grow!

Tip #1 – Use a picture. People will remember you much more if they can see what you look like on your LinkedIn profile. The picture will be used on your posts. We are a society that gets 93% of its verbal cues from body language. I realize a picture doesn’t move, but it helps your contact or future LinkedIn connection to recognize you. Use a current, professional picture.

Tip #2 – Use the status – This is the place to add links that could inform your network of important industry trends or notify your connections about an award your department received. This is a great place to indicate to those around you that you are engaged and active. You connections do want to be informed of your progress and accomplishments.

Tip #3 – When making a connection, make it personal. Don’t just hit “connect”. Take the time to put a thoughtful sentence or two directed specifically at the person to whom you are requesting a connection. Then, when you get the connection, thank that person for the connection. Then you are off to a good start in actually professionally networking with your new contact.

Tip #4 – Compete the Summary – this is where you can add anything you want to tell a compelling and interest story of yourself and you career. Use the keywords that are hot buttons for you and talk about your accomplishments and how you deliver value to your clients and/or colleagues.

Tip #5 – Security/Privacy Settings – Click on “Privacy & Settings” and browse around in this area. Find this by hovering over you photo at the top right and a drop down menu will show you options. Take about 10 or 15 minutes to browse this area to see what others can see and what they cannot. Make your choices about what you want your public profile to look like and what others searching your profile and network to see.

Bonus LinkedIn experience tips: LinkedIn has a ton of information being passed around just like the rest of the social media platforms. Much of it is valuable, helpful information. Once you get your profile set up, you can join groups which are specific to your industry or interest. Don’t be shy, make a comment on one of the groups. You can also “follow” companies to keep current with a client, competitor or future employer.

Face it people, Google is the dominate player in search engines. The noun has become a verb it is so popular. I try to take advantage of as many options as Google is going to give me to have my clients show up in the top natural search results.

One way to help Google find you is to identify yourself as an Author. If you are already blogging and contributing to online groups, it will help your identity come up in Google’s search engine results page (SERP) by going to Google’s help section on linking your Google+ profile. It is a relatively easy process as long as you meet a couple of their criteria (have a picture on G+, use byline on your articles, etc.).

Also, once you claim your Authorship, depending on who is searching for you and whether or not they are signed into Google, the results may serve up your name and contact information to the right side of the SERP adding instant credibility. Try it!

At the beginning of this year, I wanted to simplify everything. This idea leads to my decision to finally get with it and sync calendars with my 14-year-old daughter. Her activities have been clogging up my calendar long enough. Fortunately, she already has a Google email account. This she needed because the Android phone demanded she gets a Google account to do anything fun with games and Apps, which requires an email account. Google’s marketing web starts early, just like McDonald’s, Pepsi/Coke, etc. The strategy I use to combat such an early marketing message is to practice recognizing marketing intentions in all advertisements. We play a game to see who can name the marketing purpose first whenever we get a new advertisement.

Anyway, back to the Google calendar: Here are 7 Benefits that comes along with Google’s free online calendar:

Share your schedule – This makes scheduling easier when you can see your co-workers or families calendar to compare open times.

The calendar sync with your phone or tablet or you can use a mobile version of the calendar.

Alarms are user-friendly and they can notify you by text message directly to your mobile phone or by email. I have a daily notification of my calendar set up so I can receive an email of what I have scheduled at the beginning of each day.

The calendar makes it easy to invite other people to events and register RSVPs.

The Google calendar can also sync with your desktop if you use Apple iCal or Mozilla Sunbird. I did not use this feature as I just use the Google calendar directly on my desktop.

You can even check your calendar when you do not have internet availability with the Offline Access.

It is free!

To set up your Google Calendar, log in to Google and choose the calendar from the app menu at the top right of your screen. Simply move your cursor over a time on the calendar and start typing into the pop-up window. It really is that easy. The steps to sync this calendar with your mobile phone or tablet is a tiny bit more complicated, but not much. Feel free to give me a call or email and I’ll be happy to help you set this up. Next, enjoy the simple life!